St. Augustine   St. Augustine is the nations oldest continuously occupied European settlement. It was founded in 1565, over forty years before the English settlement of Jamestown. St. Augustine has done a wonderful job preserving its heritage by restoring many of the buildings, shops, homes, and streets, some of which are centuries old. The Spanish conquistador Ponce de Leon first set foot in this area in 1513. Later a permanent settlement was established by the Spanish in 1565. Numerous battles with the French and British over the area ensued for nearly 200 years. Castillo de San Marcos, a fortress built of coquina seashell "rock" in the late 1600's, withstood several attacks and sieges. The Spanish remained entrenched in the area until 1763 when they ceded the area to the British in exchange for recently captured Havana. Twenty years later Spain regained its old possession through another exchange - this time by returning captured Bahamas to the British. Spain retained the area until 1821 when Florida joined the United States as a territory. St. Augustine's historical sense can still be experienced through the narrow cobblestone streets, and restored coquina and stone buildings. Picturesque streets with stone buildings from the 1700 and 1800's are accented with moss draped oak trees. Castillo de San Marcos with its 12 foot thick, 33 foot high walls still stands as a monument to Spain's determination to control this area. This oldest masonry fort in the US overlooks Matanzas Bay. The fort successfully withstood every enemy attack. It is a well preserved example of Spanish colonial fortifications used in the New World. Other prime examples of preserved structures include the oldest wooden schoolhouse and the oldest house. The schoolhouse is the oldest surviving wood building in St. Augustine. Both buildings are nearly 300 years old. Other points of interest include the Lightner Museum and the Spanish Quarter Village. The Lightner Museum is a Spanish style complex built in the late 1800's by industrialist-millionaire, Henry Flagler, originally the Hotel Alcazar, the elegant structure is now a museum containing displays of cut and blown glass, porcelain, antiques and old musical instruments. The Spanish Quarter Village is a restored 1740's Spanish colonial village. Here guides clad in period clothing provide a tour of the area with a narrated historical background. St. Augustine also has miles of beautiful white sand beaches.  Julington Creek    Julington Creek Plantation, named for the natural creek just north, lies on a 4200 acre piece of wooded land. To the west of Julington Creek Plantation is the beautiful St. Johns River and to the east is the Atlantic Ocean. The following exceptional recreational amenities are found within or nearby Julington Creek Plantation: Aquatic center Public Library Picnic & Park Areas Playgrounds Tennis Courts Volleyball & Basketball Courts Over 100 Acres of Lakes 18 Hole Golf Course 1200 Acres of nature Preserve 7 Miles of Bike & Jogging Trails 10 Soccer & Baseball Fields In surveys received from residents of Julington Creek Plantation, the natural environment is always one of the top reasons for choosing to live at Julington Creek Plantation. The beauty of nature lies within the communities 4200 acres of land with 1200 acres of nature preserves and over 100 acres of lakes. There are over seven miles of bike and jogging trails for you and your family's enjoyment. If your idea of the perfect outdoor amenity is water, the St. Johns River is just a mile and a half from the community. There you can enjoy fishing, canoeing and water skiing. If the beach is your preference, less than 30 minutes from Julington Creek Plantation you can enjoy sailing, sunbathing or creating sand castles. Once you enter Julington Creek Plantation you begin enjoying the beauty of nature.  Fruit Cove Due east directly across the St. John's River from Clay County in the Northwest section of St. Johns County are Switzerland and Fruit Cove. Bound on the north by Julington Creek, the southern boundary of Duval County, Switzerland and Fruit Cove are beautifully nestled along the east banks of St. Johns River. This area is primarily a bedroom community for both Jacksonville and St. Augustine and features single family residences in a variety of subdivisions. The lack of commercial development in the area and the preservation of the scenic Bartram Trail (Highway 13) appeal to residents and newcomers alike.  Palm Valley For a community with an evergreen name, Palm Valley has been through plenty of changes. In the beginning of the 20th century, the Intracoastal Waterway allowed easier access to an area once home to only to Indians and later Spanish settlers. The plentiful palms prompted residents to change the name from Diego to Palm Valley in 1908. Farmers, loggers and moonshiners during Prohibition all worked the marshy, heavily treed lands. More recently, Palm Valley was filled with smaller homes and manufactured homes -- some used as year-round residences, others used as second homes or hunting lodges. Many of those old lodges and undeveloped lots are for sale, and some include an entire acre of property. Some new residents are demolishing the old lodges to make room for mansions or are finding untouched land ready for development. Waterfront properties along Roscoe Boulevard are selling from $700,000's to $3 million, up from an estimated $300,000 five years ago. River Marsh is a small gated community on the Guana River bordered by the Guana River State Park and Preserve. It will offer access to the river and preserve for fishing and hunting. Other new communities such as Sawmill Lakes, Odom's Mill and Plantation Oaks continue to sell well. Next for Palm Valley is learning to co-exist with its soon-to-be neighbors in Nocatee, a 15,000-acre community with homes, offices, parks and preserves.  Vilano Beach    Residents in the sleepy seaside community of Vilano Beach have seen many changes in the past few years that indicate their quiet, secluded neighborhood is evolving. The main catalysts to this revitalization are the new Usina Bridge connecting Vilano Beach to the mainland and the upscale Serenata Beach Club development on State Road A1A. One thing is for certain: interest is growing, and housing and lot prices are rising in response. Vilano Beach is a peninsula bordered by South Ponte Vedra Beach to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, St. Augustine Inlet to the south and the Intracoastal Waterway to the west. The most expensive houses are the oceanfront homes ranging from around $400,000 to $800,000 in the southern end of Vilano Beach known as Porpoise Point. Homes on the west side of A1A range from a minimum of $125,000 to $400,000. On the Intracoastal Waterway, home prices begin at approximately $400,000. Construction of the Usina Bridge spurred the area's revitalization as it replaced an undependable drawbridge that deterred people from buying homes in Vilano Beach. The Vilano/Surfside area was primarily a summer beach community, but more and more people are living there year-round. Vilano Beach also has one of the few red shell coquina beaches in the state. Two boat ramps are available for fishing and boating.  World Golf Village   When Jim Davidson, president/CEO of Davidson Development, learned of tentative plans to build a golf hall of fame 10 miles north of his property, he began to re-think his plan to build a self-contained resort community. He had a proposal for golf's officials: take the hall of fame concept, combine it with the future of the sport and the technology of the industry, then build into it a sense of place that would celebrate that concept. That sense of place would incorporate the roots of the game in Scotland and the architectural details of the St. Augustine area in which it would be located. Bermuda grass was planted to the roadbed of the winding entrance, bordered on either side by the greens and fairways of The Slammer and Squire course, designed by golf giants Sam Snead and Gene Sarazen. Street signs became monuments of stone, reminiscent of the ancient stonework of St. Augustine. More than 4,000 trees were planted, including more than 1,000 live oaks lining the roadways. The Arnold Palmer-Jack Nicklaus King and Bear golf course was also completed. The Hall of Fame with its historical artifacts and interactive displays, an IMAX theater, cafes and boutiques, hotel and resort soon followed and World Golf Village opened in May 1998. Residents of the various neighborhoods who would make it truly a village began moving in, starting with the Davidson family. With homes in every price range, condominium homes priced from $97,000, patio homes, even a life-care community with full medical facilities for retirees, World Golf Village blends many different ages, incomes and lifestyles. A 6,300-acre community with more than 44 percent of those acres greenbelts and preserves, World Golf Village is at one with nature, while offering all the necessities of a self-contained town. Pools, parks and picnic tables, tennis courts, soccer fields and basketball courts, volleyball, baseball and playground equipment and a range of varied dining opportunities assure residents that they could live well without ever leaving the village. The town schools, Mill Creek Elementary, Switzerland Point Middle and Bartram Trail High, belong to the nationally acclaimed St. Johns County system.